September in the SMP

Fall (and Food and Life)

I’m noticing that this time of year is one of intense ideation and activity for me–at least in my current rhythms. I do think some of it is natural wiring, and maybe not just for me but for humans in general. It is harvest season, and I find myself driven to acquire and preserve food. Doesn’t this seem like it must be instinctual? I know many have real jobs and may not be tuned into this drive, even having to maybe intentionally ignore it; or maybe it’s so distant from the way most of us live these days that it would be unrecognizable even if you are experiencing it. For me, who took an interest in nutrition some 20+ years ago, this time of year invites a sort of busy-ness that yields stores of food. Since discovering this passion of mine, I’ll admit it has hibernated some years out of necessity (conflicting with career choices usually,) but I love, love that my current Life allows me the capacity to engage in this form of creativity that I find so satisfying.

My preferred method of preservation is lacto-fermentation which actually adds more Life to our food. Life being the thing that I’m most obsessed with these days, I find this so interesting. I actually, finally acquired a pressure canner and decided to learn and practice this method of preservation. I was excited and determined to master the basics, hoping to appreciate the results. The lady from whom I purchased the (“used” but also never used) canning equipment, included a book about canning whose author is clearly passionate about this form of food preserving. Browsing the pages of the book led to me being even more excited and investing more than usual on local produce at our weekend farmer’s market and trying my hand at these larger batches of food. Sadly, the results have been disappointing for me. They taste so…well, dead. Instead of adding nutrients (a.k.a. Life which tastes like rich complexity and often you can actually feel the Life because it fizzes with tiny bubbles) like lacto-fermentation does, it’s my understanding that this canning method destroys about 50% of the nutrition through the high heat and pressure. Maybe this is why that lady was selling the equipment. 

I did waterbath a batch of cucumber pickles that turned out to be rather delicious, though I didn’t even use the pressure equipment to achieve this. Anyone interested in a pressure canner? Just kidding–there is still some satisfaction in watching jars of local food accumulate in my pantry, and I know this is the most viable method of preservation to capture and store much of the harvest. You may be wondering what this has to do with anything? Isn’t this a Substack for parents of TIDed kids? “Why is she blabbering on about this and what does this have to do with me?” Good question. I’m not sure myself, but suspect there’s a metaphor in here…or “telos” as they’d say in Jungian dream language, meaning “where this is headed, the goal.” I’m going to just keep going and see where this ends up. 

A final note on food and preserving as a sort of update:  my little vacation adventure mentioned in August’s monthly newsletter had a third and final leg that saw my husband and I camping and doing some agri-tourism. I returned home with 23 lbs of delicious nectarines–many of which I preserved though none of which saw the inside of that canner.  

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Fall and the SMP

So, yes, back to ideation and Life. The busyness. We had our monthly meeting on the 10th–the incredible moms who make up the active membership of the online SMP community. We agreed that the intimacy of the smallish group has been lovely and it’s time to Liven things up in there with new members. And that’s where my business brain is these days. What will this look like? I’ve got all kinds of ideas that have moving parts and will need some sorting out. It’s coming up on our first anniversary, and the early adopters have created a fantastic culture. There are lots of offerings in there, many of them peer-led, and there’s plenty of space for new faces and voices and talents. For new Life. There it is, maybe? The telos of that introduction on food and Life I felt compelled to share. 

Just know that things are buzzing and they’re ready to grow and become more complex. I even had a dream that it was time to iterate what things look like on the platform–and that it would happen with the help of its members. As I mentioned, I’ve got more noodling to do to determine where this all goes, but know I’ll be communicating more soon. 

In the meantime, last month’s theme of The Invitation will continue. Damn, I love me some synchronicity! I do invite you to give it a try. It’s only $24/month and you can cancel anytime. If you get in quickly, you’ll even be able to attend our special event next week with guest, Julie Henderson, who will be working with us on the midlife invitation, and diving into what this time in our Lives and personal development might be asking of us and how to give it the attention it demands. To get a sense of Julie and what she offers, you can listen to my conversations with her here: 

From Mother to Matriarch

Q&A with Julie Henderson

I would discourage going all in with the annual membership since I’ll likely offer a discount on this in an anniversary sale next month—at which point, if you’re loving it, you can shift from the monthly to the annual membership. I also want to remind that this is a private, vetted community. You can find the application on the community landing page below (scroll down below the header image that says “not currently available for purchase” where you’ll find more information about the community including testimonials from some of our members):

https://the-stoicmom-project.mn.co/

Checking out the application you’ll find there is a good way to see if the culture of the community would be a good fit for you. 

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conversations along the way

I just published the third installment of the sponsored series: conversations with stoic mamas along the way. A fabulous conversation with SMP subscriber, S. Bee, packed with wise nuggets and descriptions of her dreams that have helped to guide her to a more peaceful and hopeful relationship with her adult trans-identified daughter: 

Whether to wrestle a serial killer

Such a perfect episode to be sponsored by Dreamschool! Brought to you by the creators of This Jungian Life, Dreamschool is a year-long dream interpretation course designed to teach you how to “decode the language of metaphor and symbol, and harness the power of your unconscious wisdom.” Stoicmom subscribers can get 15% off tuition with the coupon code: STOICMOM15 Go to https://thisjungianlife.com/join-dream-school/ to learn more and enroll.

To check out some of my dreams that brought me comfort and peace during a time that I think rattles most parents in this situation, you can browse the dream interpretation section of my reflections along the way page.

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I certainly have more on my mind, relevant topics I’d like to write about, people I’d like to interview, and certainly ideas for how to elevate the SMP community experience to the next level—for the moms who’ve committed to this invitation to reclaim Life in a way that feels better, a way that honors and nourishes the one precious Life we’re each here to experience. I imagine the buzz, the activity, the Life will continue through the season!

So here’s to the changing seasons, the harvest, the cycles…huh. Hmm. As I’m wrapping this up, I’m thinking about how most of us are in the Autumn of our lives. Maybe it’s time to harvest the wisdom of the experiences that have made up the previous seasons, to maximize the nutrients that have developed along the way, and throw in a little culture (that’s what we call the substance that is added to jumpstart a lacto-fermentation. It’s also a verb that describes the process: to culture our food is to add the microbes that will not only extend its life but enhance it. The result is a whole new way of being for the food that came together in the jar; an alchemy that transforms the ingredients into something magical and so very alive) and create some fizz! Could it be time to tune into that natural Fall/Autumn instinct and boost the Life in your life with a little culture? Wink, wink.